Squatting couple with lice in Orange City charged with child neglect, deputies say

Thursday

Jan 23, 2014 at 9:36 AM

By Patricio G. Balonapatricio.balona@news-jrnl.com

A Volusia deputy responding to a trespass call ended up arresting a couple for child neglect after discovering they were living with three small children in an abandoned home near Orange City, according to a sheriff’s report.Besides living in a home hazardous to the children, Richard Grossett, 39, and Sasha Limpar, 35, both of Bethlehem, Pa., had a head lice infestation, sheriff’s investigators said.Gossett and Limpar were charged with trespassing in an unoccupied structure and child neglect. Each was being held Thursday in the Volusia County Branch Jail on $2,500 bail.On Tuesday, a deputy was called to 775 Charles Ave. in Orange City to reports of people trespassing at the home but when he got there he discovered that the couple and the small children had been living in the home for two days, reports show.The owner of the home said she did not know Grossett or Limpar and that she had not given them or anyone permission to stay in the home that has been vacant since 2008 and is in foreclosure, the deputy reported.When the deputy entered the house he discovered that the power and water had been turned on but there were multiple holes in the walls exposing live wires and nails. There were empty frozen pizza boxes and empty soda cans and the only food found in the house was a can of chips and one frozen pizza on the counter, the report state.The small children, an 11-year-old girl and two boys ages 5 and 3, were living in the house that had broken glass on the floor in one bedroom and nails and screws on the floor throughout the house. Only a bare mattress and a fold-out mattress couch were found in the house, reports state.Limpar said she had been shopping daily for food, the deputy said.The refrigerator was empty and was covered in mold and insects, the report states.While being booked into the county jail, it was discovered that Gossett and Limpar had a severe infestation of head lice. The deputy then contacted the Department of Children & Families, which took custody of the children, and that agency said they will have the children medically checked, reports show.